St. Landry democrat., 1887-07-30
CLINTON'S FESTIV AL
TliE HUNDRETH ANNIXERSA =
OF A VILLAGES BIRTH.
resident Cleveland Revisits the Scene
His Schoolboy Days-Interesting En-"
cises Attended by Vast Crowds-The Oh.
Magistrates Estimate of His Office.

President Cleveland and party attende'
he centennial celebration of Clinton, n y
IN immense crowd was in attendanc,
the Republic was present The President il
his address spoke of the days he had spen
in the town when boy. He said:
81 am by no means certain Of my stand
ing here among those who celebrate the cen
ennial of CliftOn's existence as a village
My recollections of the place reach back
ward about thirty-six years, and my resi-
dence here covered a very brief period. Bu'
these recollections are fresh and distinct to
day-and pleasant too, though not entirely
free from sOmbre cOlOring. 1t was here III
the school at the foot of College Hill, that /
began my preparation tor college life, and
enjoyed the anticipation of collegiate educa
ton. We had two teachers in our school
One became afterward Judge i'll Chicago
and the other passed through the legal pro
fesson to the ministry, and within the las
two years was living further West | read a
little Latin with two other boys in the class
[ think t1oundered through four books OF
the Ened. The other boys had nice, large
modern editions OF Virgil, with big print and
plenty of notes 10 help one over hard places
Mine was little old-fashioned copy which
my father used before me- with no notes
and which was only translated by har,
knocks. | believe I have forgiven those
other boys for their persistent refusal t"
allow me the use Of their notes in Their
books AT any rate, they do not seem to have
been Overtaken by any dire retrlbutlOnS, az
one of them is now a rich and prosperous
lawyer in Buffalo, and the other is pro
fessor in your college and orator Of to-day :
celebration. Struggles with ten lines OF
Virgil which, at first, made up my daily
task are amusing as remembered now. but
with them | am also forced to remember
that instead of being the beginning of higher
education, for which honestly longed, they
occurred near the end of my school adVan-
:ages. This suggests disappointment, which
no lapse of time can alleviate, and depriva-
ton | have sadly felt with every passing
YEAR
At the banquet in response to the toast,
The President Of the United States, Presl-
dent Cleveland spoke as follows:
II am inclined to content myself on this
occasion with all acknowledgment on behalf
of the people of the United States Of the com
pliment which you have paid to the office
which represents their sovereignty. But such
an acknowledgment suggests an idea which l
cannot refrain from dwelling upon for mo-
ment. That the office of President of the
United States does not represent the SOW
ereignty of sixty millions Of people IS to
my mind a statement full of sOlenlnlty.
Sovereignty, I conceive, is the working act
or enforcement of the divine gift Of man
to govern himself, and a manifestation OF
Gods plans concerning the human race.
Though the struggles of political parties
to secure the incumbency of this office and
the questionable methods sometimes resOrted
to for its possession may not be IN Keep
ing with this idea, and though the deceit
practiced to mislead the people in their
choice and its too frequent influence on their
suffrage may surprise us, these things should
never lead us astray in our sentiments OF tins
exalted position and its value and dignity.
And though your fellowcitizen who may be
chosen to perform for a time the duties OF
this highest place should be badly selected,
and though the best Obtainable results may
not be reached by his administration yet the
exacting watchfulness of the people freed
from the disturbing turmoil of political ex-
element, ought to prevent mlSChance to the
Office which represents their sovereignty,
and should reduce to minimum the danger
of harm to the state. | by no means under
estimate the importance of the utmost care
and circumspectioni in the selection of the in
cu1nbent. On the contrary, | believe there
is no obligation of citizenship that demands
more thought and conscientious deliberation
than this. But | am speaking Ofthe citizens
duty to the Office and its selected lncum-
bent. This duty is only performed when, in
the interest of the entire people, the full
exercise or the powers OF the cnle1 naSlStraCy
is insisted on, and then, for the peoples
safety, due regard for the limitations
placed upon the office is exacted. These
things should be enforced by the manifesto
ton of calm and enlightened public opin-
ion; that this should not be simulated by
the mad clamor of disappointed interest,
which, without regard for the general good,
or allowance for the exercise of official judg-
ments, would degrade the office by forcing
compliance with selfish demands. If your
President should not be Of the people and
one of your fellow-citizens, he would be
utterly unfit for the position, incapable of
understanding the peoples wants, and care
less of their desires. That he is one of the
people implies that he is subject to human
fraiity and error, but he should be permitted
to claim but little liberation for mistakes.
The generosity of his fellow-citizens should
alone decree how far good intentions should
excuse his shortcomings. Watch we'll, then,
this high office, the most precious possession
of American citizenship. Demand forlt the
most complete devotion on the part of him
to whose custody it may be intrusted, and
protect it not less violently from unworthy
assaults from without. Thus will you per
form sacred duty to yourselves and to those
who may follow you in the enjoyment Of the
fraaSt institutions which Heaven has ever